Isra

Every year on the 27th of Rajab, Muslims around the world commemorate the event called Al-Isra` and al-Mi'raj, the Prophet(SAW) 's night journey from Mecca to al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem from where he embarked on the second leg of the journey heavenwards.

There are different versions of this journey. Some say that both the events happened in a dream, while others are of the opinion that both of these took place in the waking state and the Prophet(SAW) physically went on the journey, and some say that it was merely a mystic vision shown to him.

The analysis of the author suggests that Al-Isra could have been a bodily experience. Technically, with a little lift from Jibraeel(AS) , who can travel at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second), it was possible for the Prophet(SAW) to physically travel to Jerusalem and return to Mecca in less than five minutes.

Al-Miraj, on the other hand, could not have been a bodily or mystical experience. It could not even be a dream. It fits the core elements of a superlative form of out of body experience (OBE), which is beyond imagination. The state he was in was very conducive to trigger such an OBE. While the body stayed where he was sleeping, his conscience (soul) saw things which fits the pattern of an OBE e.g. looking at what Jibraeel(AS) was doing with his body, passing through a huge space (heaven), meeting the dead (some of the Prophets), and seeing a bright light and the paradise.

UPDATE Summer 2024.

This article was earlier declined by a leading journal specialising in Islamic studies and another concerned with the ancient history and archaeology of the southern Levant, citing rather absurd and disingenuous objections, which included the lack of originality! I believe that they did so fearing its possible political ramifications. I therefore decided to make this important study freely available online here and let my peers decide on its merits. It has since clocked up more visitors than any of my other publications on this website. Shortly after an earlier draft was posted on Academia.edu, Ahmad Ahmadi of Teheran University expressed to me his appreciation of my article. He requested my permission to translate it into Farsi and have it published in the Iranian Islamic studies journal, JAP. I was happy to accede to his request, and the article was duly published under both our names in vol. 30, issue 178 [2019], of that journal. That Farsi version can be found in the listing of my journal publications.

Le nom Al-Buraq a été donné par la tradition islamique à un animal mythique ailé, censé avoir servi de monture miraculeuse à Mohammed pour son légendaire voyage céleste ou Isra, suivi de son ascension jusqu'au septième ciel (ou Miraj). On en trouve un exposé traditionnel dans l'article en français, intitulé « Le voyage nocturne et l'ascension [de Mohammed] », sur le site The Religion of Islam.com. Voici tout d'abord, deux photos contemporaines anciennes, au titre d'état des lieux : Le Mur au XIX e siècle. Photo de 1865. Source : site Elders of Zion. Derrière ces fidèles juifs en prière se pressent les maisons du quartier Moghrabi (voir cliché suivant).

Following the Arab conquest of Jerusalem in 638 CE, its official name remained essentially unchanged for over a century, the Latin form Aelia merely being transliterated into the Arabic Īliyā. This fact is attested on coins and seals dating from the Umayyad period. In the early 9th century CE, the name Īliyā fell out of use to be replaced by al-Quds, in recognition of the sacred status of Jerusalem. This study offers an explanation for delayed name change by examining the testimony of earliest surviving sources, including in particular the contemporaneous coins and the foremost Islamic monument that survives from Umayyad rule, the Dome of the Rock. New observations about this early Islamic shrine and its mosaic decoration are reported and analysed. The various strands of evidence are brought together and throw new light on the persistence of the name Īliyā for Jerusalem.

بعد از اینکه اعراب در سال ۶۳۸ میادی ] ۱۶ یا ۱۷ هجری[ اورشلیم را فتح کردند، نام این شهر تا حدود یک قرن تقریبا دست نخورده ماند؛ با این تغییر کوچک که فقط عنوان لاتین آن که آئیلیا بود کمی عربی گردید و تبدیل به ایلیا شد. شاهد این مدعا -ثابت ماندن نام تا حدود یک قرن- سکه ها و مهرهایی است که از دوره اموی باقی مانده است. از سال های ابتدایی قرن نهم میادی ]اواخر قرن دوم هجری[ بود که عنوان ایلیا جای خود را به لفظ قدس ) )al-Quds داد، دلیل این نام گذاری هم جایگاه قدس یای بود که اورشلیم داشت. این پژوهش در نظر دارد تا با تکیه بر قدیم یترین منابع باقیمانده از دورهٔ اموی نظیر سکه های این عصر و همچنین قدیم یترین بنای باقیمانده از عصر حا کمان اموی، یعنی قب ةالصخره توضیحی برای این تأخیر در تغییر نام پیدا کند. همچنین مشاهدات و نظرات جدید دربارهٔ این بنای مقدس اسامی و نمای خاص موزاییکی اش آورده و تحلیل شده است. و در نهایت شواهد و مدارک مختلف را کنار هم چید هایم تا با نگاهی نو بقای یک صد سالهٔ نام ایلیا برای اورشلیم را بررسی کنیم.

Purpose This paper aims to critically investigate the liquidity risk management of Islamic banks and develop an alternative regulatory framework appropriate for liquidity management of these banks. Design/methodology/approach The specific risk profile of an Islamic bank requires developing a new and more efficient regulatory framework, which relies on risk- sharing and symmetric information among parties. The paper makes a differentiation between small local banks and internationally active Islamic banks and proposes to apply liquidity requirements only for internationally active Islamic banks. Findings A new proposal for the liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) of Islamic banks is developed in this paper towards mitigating risks and concurrently protecting the interests of investment account holders. Minimum and maximum thresholds are proposed for each liquid asset in this new LCR framework. An alternative liquidity approach is discussed to complement the proposal and several policy opti...